Looking for Food for Kidney & Heart Disease, IBD & Pancreatitis

[spac]

Here's the background info:
My lovely 22 y/o cat just got her blood results which show worsening kidneys and heart, plus pancreatitis. In 2014 she was diagnosed with possible IBD or small cell lymphoma. In 2016 she did better being kept in a single room (she has no interest in leaving) and away from the other cats. I'm not sure if stress played a part in her stomach issues or not.

The past year she's been eating Sheba pate wet food very well, but now she's either going through her winter "picky spell" or she legitimately is bothered by something. The blood work shows possible infection which will be treated with Clavamox. She's pretty well hydrated. The vet recommends 50-100 ml of subq fluids ONCE a week due to the heart issues and her petite size (about 5 lbs.). She seems perky, she's just not eating well. She's hungry, but doesn't like what I have to offer. She goes through this "picky spell" about once a year, usually in the colder winter months.

I can't afford wet/canned prescription food and I don't know that dry prescription food is a good choice. Any suggestions? The Sheba pates are supposed to be low carb and low phosphorus, at least compared to other non-prescription foods, but she's not eating those too well. I can at least use a phosphorus binder if needed. I'm now doing a rotation of Sheba pate, 9 Lives pate, Special Kitty (Walmart) pate, Tiny Tigers chunks in gravy, and Fancy Feast (this has too much phosphorus). She will eat dry food like Cat Chow, but she swallows it whole and I know that dry isn't the best choice at this point. It may have even contributed to a flare-up because she got into some a few days to a week before she started having issues. Can't use an appetite stimulant because she just can't handle it.

Any food suggestions would be great.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

With all those health issues, I'm hesitant to recommend anything speciic. What parameters did your Vet give you?. i know for kidneys you want to cut down on phosphorus and salt, for the heart disease you probably want to cut down on salt, but not sure exactly what the heart disease is, for the IBD you want to cut out carbs at the very least and artificial flavorings, artificial anythings really, and for the Pancreatitis you need lower fats, am I correct?

When you say the appetite stimulants she "can't handle", what happens? Have you tried different ones? Or different ways of administering them? My last kidney cat rec'd Mirtazapine transdermally and that worked great for all of us, but especially her. Have you tried feeding many small meals through the day? Cats with low appetite sometimes respond well to just very small meals more frequently than larger meals less often. My girl would eat just about one Tablespoon per meal, but about 9 meals throughout the day and night. (with extra water added to the food, which was always canned never dry, as you already stated would probably be best. Have you tried adding toppers? Maybe something like her favorite treat crushed and sprinkled on top?

Lastly, for now, here is a food chart from a feline kidney site that has a listing of foods in order of the amount of phosphorus in them, but it also lists other important characteristics like fat and carbs that might help you find something healthy for her: http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm#canned_usa